If you have an international trip coming up, naturally you want to avoid getting ill. Here are a few things you should avoid.
When youโve spent months planning your international trip, the last thing you want is to be bedridden due to illness. While no one can guarantee youโll remain 100% healthy while traveling, you can take some proactive steps to significantly reduce your chances of falling ill.
How to Avoid Getting Ill on Vacation
While you will never be able to rule out illness altogether, there are things you can do to minimise the risks.
Prepare Your Body: One Month Before Your Trip
Proper preparation is key to boosting your bodyโs defenses. Hereโs how to set yourself up for a healthier vacation:
- Visit a Doctor or Travel Clinic: Schedule a visit to your doctor or a travel clinic to discuss your destination. Based on the region, you may need vaccinations, such as typhoid, hepatitis A, or yellow fever. Be sure to complete these well in advance, as some vaccines take weeks to become effective.
- Strengthen Your Immune System with Vitamins: Incorporate a daily vitamin regimen tailored to strengthen your immune system. Vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc supplements can help fortify your defenses against foreign bacteria and viruses.
- Research Local Health Risks: Learn about common health risks specific to your destination, such as water contamination, mosquito-borne illnesses, or specific food safety concerns. Stock up on necessary items like mosquito repellents, electrolyte sachets, and digestive tablets.
Prepare Your Body: Two Weeks Before Your Trip
About 15 days before traveling, refine your plan by taking additional steps:
- Hydrate and Maintain a Balanced Diet: Eat nutrient-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to support gut health. Staying hydrated with plenty of water can also make your immune system more resilient.
- Start a Probiotic Supplement: Taking a high-quality probiotic daily will strengthen the beneficial bacteria in your gut, which can help protect against food-borne illnesses.
- Stock a First Aid Kit: Prepare a first aid kit that includes basic medications like ibuprofen, antihistamines, anti-diarrheal tablets, and antacids. Youโll appreciate the convenience if you need them while traveling.
Prepare Your Body: One Week Before Your Trip
With only seven days to go, start refining your plans further:
- Sleep and De-stress: Your body heals and fortifies itself during sleep. Ensure youโre getting at least 7โ8 hours of sleep every night leading up to your trip, and find ways to manage stress through meditation or light exercise. Stress can weaken your immune system.
- Test New Foods Cautiously: If youโre planning to sample street food or dishes with unfamiliar ingredients, take it slow. Start with small portions so you can monitor how your stomach reacts. This minimizes digestive upsets while youโre on vacation.
Taking Care of Yourself on Your Trip
Now that you’re abroad, it’s important to keep these tips in mind:
- Go Easy on the Tap Water: While tap water is fine to drink in many countries, the bacteria that is found in local tap water can vary quite wildly. Itโs the bacteria that tends to make travellers ill, especially if they end up drinking a lot of it. Basically, too much foreign bacteria too soon can have negative effects, so drink it in moderation and stick to majority bottled water. Donโt forget about ice and the fact that produce is washed in tap water too โ something to consider.
- Double Check Those Hotel Glasses: In theory, you should be able to trust that a hotel will hand you the keys to a room that has been thoroughly cleaned but itโs still best to take some precautions. If a glass is not wrapped in a sealed plastic bag, rinse it thoroughly or ask for a new one. You never know when a glass has been rubbed down with a dirty rag before being placed back on a counter.
- Stay Away from Deserted Restaurants: Food poisoning can take several days out of your vacation. To avoid this, stay away from restaurants and food carts that donโt seem very busy. The rule of thumb is that if the locals are eating there and itโs continuously busy, itโs probably safe for you to eat there too. Over and above this, busier establishments have a higher food turnover, which means you are almost guaranteed fresher ingredients.
Recommended Read: How to Eat Like a Local
- Donโt Forgo a Doctorโs Visit If You Get Very Ill: Apps such as Air Doctorย make it that much easier to get in touch with a medical professional when you really need one. If you are very ill, itโs best not to try and rely on your immune system alone. Even if you feel a slight cold coming on, rather get some medication to boost your system. Leaving things to run their course can also make you more vulnerable to other infections.
- Protect Your Skin from the Sun: Sun exposure can cause problems that are a lot worse than sunburn. Not many people realise that excess exposure to the sun is said to cause stomach issues as well as sunstroke, which could send you to the hospital. It takes less than 15 minutes to apply sunscreen and ensure you have a hat and sunglasses for the day ahead โ rather be safe.
- Always Research Your Destination: When youโre not a local, you donโt always hear about potential health risks. To avoid getting ill, make a point of researching any health risks in your destination so that you can take precautions and know what to be aware of.
- Stay Away from Plane Seatback Pockets: When you travel by plane, youโre already exposed to an array of germs. One area of planes that hardly ever gets cleaned very thoroughly between flights is seatback pockets. Itโs fine to have a read through the emergency information but try to limit your exposure to this pocket as much as possible. In fact, this goes for most surfaces in a plane โ keep your hand sanitizer close by.
By being more aware of your surroundings and what youโre exposing your body to, it is possible to stay healthy and happy on your vacation.
Download The Air Doctor App
Air Doctor is an easy-to-use app that connects you with a global network of multi-lingual doctors and specialists so you can access medical care anywhere, anytime. With the Air Doctor app in your pocket, you can access medical care and receive expert medical guidance wherever you are in the world.
Air Doctor offers a wide range of benefits, including:
- A global network of over 20,000 multi-lingual doctors and specialists
- Choice of clinic, at-home (hotel), and video consultations
- Active in 78 countries
- 24/7 multi-lingual support
- Transparent pricing and reviews
- Most common medical specialties, including pediatricians
If youโre looking for reliable, accessible, and global medical assistance, Air Doctor is the perfect choice for you. Download the app before your next trip to ensure peace of mind and access to quality healthcare, wherever your travels take you.
